


They/Them/Theirs

by DepressedCarrot



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Coming Out, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Headcanon, Non-Gender Conforming, non binary, non binary character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:28:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28252413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DepressedCarrot/pseuds/DepressedCarrot
Summary: Steven starts to question a lot about the way that he feels in his own body and seeks Greg's advice.
Relationships: Greg Universe & Steven Universe
Comments: 3
Kudos: 36





	They/Them/Theirs

**Author's Note:**

  * For [JosephThropp](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JosephThropp/gifts).



> Wrote this for part of a gift exchange for my Discord server. I have never written this kind of headcanon before, so I drew on my experiences as a non-binary person to try and throw something together. Overall, I enjoyed writing it and it was fun to explore something different. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this little fic that I put together for the exchange. :^)

“Dad, can I talk to you?” Steven muttered as he stepped over to the back of the van. His dad was sitting in the back tuning his acoustic guitar. It was a late afternoon in Beach City, the sun was setting over the ocean and local businesses were starting to wind down for the evening. 

Steven had decided that it was the perfect time to go and see his dad. 

With everything that had been going on recently, Steven barely had time to think for himself. However, the last couple of days he had something on his mind that he couldn’t seem to shake. Something that he had been trying to persuade himself otherwise for what he had suddenly realised had been most of his life. He was unsure if his father would have been able to solve the issue that he was facing, but he was willing to give it a go. 

His dad always had great advice. Mostly. 

“Hey, Stchuball! Come take a seat.” The older man shuffled over slightly and gently tapped the section of the van beside him. 

Steven didn’t hesitate to hop into the back, allowing his legs to hang over the edge as he sat beside his dad. There was a moment of silence shared between them both as Steven intertwined his fingers together, allowing for his hands to rest on his lap. 

There were so many things that he had discussed with Greg in the past. Everything from his passion for music to his...mother. Although, even if these conversations continued to come up, it wasn’t as if they ever got any easier. That was in regards to them both. 

Greg often found the things that Steven wanted so desperately to know difficult to talk about, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to have made the effort to have at least tried to help him out on his pursuit for more knowledge. 

“So, what was it you wanted to talk about?” Greg looked over at Steven with a smile. He was so proud of his son and who he had become over the years. From living in the back of the van with him as a kid to becoming a Crystal Gem - Steven had a lot cut out for him and everything he did always made Greg incredibly proud. 

Steven found himself caught in the silence, unsure of how he was supposed to start a conversation about something that he didn’t quite understand. He wasn’t even sure if it was something that his dad would understand, but he liked to speak to his father about anything he could. 

He hadn’t particularly come to Greg that day for...answers, but he was happy for someone to have just listened to the legitimate concerns that he held within himself. If it was something he felt he could have discussed with anyone else, then perhaps he would - but he was even beginning to question whether or not his father was the right person to have gone to. 

“Do you ever feel like you’re different from how other people see you?” Steven looked over at Greg with a sad expression plastered over his face. He wasn’t quite sure that if the way he had phrased it was correct. 

Greg could see the uncomfortableness in his son's eyes telling him how hard it was to have the conversation. He would never have judged Steven for whatever he told him. He was always going to be on his side, no matter what. 

“I think most people probably feel that way about a lot of things. We always try to be the best version of ourselves for other people, but I guess sometimes life enjoys throwing you a curveball and making others see you differently.” Greg placed the guitar down behind him, not filling Steven with any kind of confidence about his question. 

Steven had never been anxious about this kind of thing before. When it came to other people having his same thoughts and feelings all he could do was support them. He wanted them to be happy. 

Although, when he started to feel these things for himself he found the idea...silly. It was as if he didn't deserve the same love as everyone else for the way that he felt. People were going to view him differently and there was no escape from that. 

“Uh...I’m talking more about...being seen as a boy. Or girl. Or...uh...neither? ...Both?” Steven squinted slightly at his last breath, feeling a little silly for bringing up the suggestion. 

Greg blinked, trying his hardest to understand where it was his son was coming from and what he was attempting to suggest. There were a lot of questions that Greg could have answered from Steven, but he was slowly starting to realise that perhaps this wasn’t one of them. 

“Oh. I mean...people can be whoever they want to be! You shouldn’t let the way that other people view you stop you from being  _ you _ !” Greg half-smiled as he spoke. It was clear that he was a little rusty on the topic, but was willing to do just about anything to make Steven comfortable. Especially if that meant making sure that he was comfortable in his own skin. 

Steven had heard it before. He was pretty certain that the phrase was something that even  _ he  _ had said himself. People needed to make sure that they could be whoever they needed to be. He told people that all the time! 

So, what made it so difficult for Steven to understand that he could offer himself that same luxury? 

“I don’t think it’s that...easy.” Steven looked away, a little embarrassed to get his true feelings out. “At least, I don’t  _ think  _ it’s easy. It’s hard to change when everyone has always seen you one way and then suddenly...you’re someone else.” 

“People are willing to learn, Kiddo. You should always give them the opportunity to do so. Isn’t that what you always tell people?” Greg thought back to all of the times in which Steven had attempted to help multiple gems. He always seemed to have said the right thing, Greg only wished that he could have given his son that same gratification. 

“I do. People should at least  _ try  _ to be accepting of others. There are lots of gems that didn’t get along with me when we first met, but they changed so that they could be better.” Steven felt a little strange describing his relationship with gems in comparison to how he was feeling with his own identity. 

“What I’m trying to say is that you accept these gems for who they are, right? Before  _ and  _ after?” 

“Of course! They’re so happy now they can be themselves…” Steven looked away as he spoke, the pieces in his mind connecting as to where his father was coming from. 

Was it so bad for Steven to have tried to have been himself? A part of him knew that everyone around him would always have been supportive of any kind of change that he wanted to go through, but that didn’t stop the excessive anxiety from running through his mind. 

What if they didn’t accept him? What if they were accepting of a lot of things - but this was going to have been too much for them? This may have been the thing that made them feel uncomfortable around him. 

Steven felt terrible for even considering these things within his mind as if he hadn’t already had enough to contend with. His mind questioning his identity was the last thing that he needed to have been thinking about and yet it never seemed to have left his thoughts. His internal thinking process was harsh, but one that he couldn’t seem to stop from ticking - slowly pushing him over the ledge. 

“Exactly! Nobody’s going to judge you, Steven. We love you no matter who you want to be.” Greg lifted his hand and gently placed it on his son’s shoulder. It was the affirmation that he needed to know that he was never going to have been alone in his decisions. 

His dad and the Gems were always going to have been there to help support him throughout any journey he needed to take. It was important for his dad to have been a part of it, knowing that it would be something he would need support in. 

Steven slowly kicked his legs back and forth at the back of the van, internally debating what question he could have asked next. It felt nice to have Greg’s hand resting on his shoulder, a guarantee that even if he wanted to change who he was his dad would be beside him the whole way. 

It was trying to get the people closest to him to understand that change that was going to have been the hardest. Even if he didn’t understand it himself.

“I...I just feel so much more comfortable when Connie and I are Stevonnie.” Steven held onto his arm, feeling guilty for expressing his feelings. It had been a while since he had been Stevonnie with his best friend - but he always remembered it as being an incredible experience. “It’s hard trying to figure out whether or not that’s just because I’m close to Connie or whether it’s because it’s a body that I’m comfortable in. It just feels so...right.” 

Steven took a deep breath, not wanting to sound strange as he spoke about his experience with Stevonnie in a way that may have made Greg a little lost in the conversation. Although, Greg was happy to have followed along - listening carefully and taking it in word for word as he tried to make some sense of what his son was referring to.

Steven was afraid that one day Connie would have gone away to college and he would have been void of the experience that brought him closer to his best friend. The experience that made him feel a way that he was unsure of. A way that allowed him to have been comfortable in his own body. Wasn’t that what it was truly about? 

“Y’know...it’s okay not to know. Connie is important to you regardless and I think that’s a valuable thing to remember.” 

“I think what I’m trying to say is...I feel more comfortable in that body because I’m not entirely...me.” Steven sighed, feeling upset that he had to admit such a thing to his father. There was no way that he would have wanted his dad to hear him say something so hard-hitting. 

It wasn’t the fact that Steven didn’t enjoy his own company, it was more down to the idea that Steven was struggling with his own identity. He didn’t know who he wanted to be anymore and with everything that was going on around him, the last thing he wanted was to have been questioning his...gender? 

Greg thought hard about what his son was trying to get across. It wasn’t something that he had ever experienced himself, perhaps not to the same extent that Steven was feeling it anyway. 

“You don’t have to be Stevonnie to be who you want to be. You’re important to everyone just the way you are. Now, I’m not saying that  _ everyone _ would be accepting of those changes, but it’s an important step to admit that’s what you want.” Greg gripped tightly onto Steven’s shoulder, watching as he stared down at the floor, kicking his feet back and forth sitting at the back of the van. 

“I don’t know what I want.”

“These things take time. You’ll get there when you’re ready.” Greg assured, despite not having much knowledge on the subject, he was willing to be there for his son whenever he needed his dad the most. 

“I think...I don’t want to make anyone else uncomfortable because of who I want to be around them. Wouldn’t it be unfair on other people for me to ask them to change their pronouns for me or see me in a different way? Isn’t that...difficult?” Steven gripped onto his own arm, feeling incredibly uncomfortable with the thought. 

All he ever wanted to do was to make people happy. As long as he could have achieved that then everything else in life would have been complete. Nothing would have been able to stand in the way. He was sure of it. 

“You would do it for them if they asked you, right?” 

“Of course I would!”

“So, why is it any different for you?” 

“Well, I...uh-” Steven couldn’t think of an excuse. Normalising different pronouns wasn’t something he ever thought he would have to deal with when it came to himself. 

He knew people who were non-binary and had no problem respecting their pronouns. Other people around them did the same thing. So, why would it have been any different from Steven? Why wouldn’t people have been able to accept that about him when everyone else around him could accept it about others?

“Who do  _ you  _ want to be, Steven?” Greg questioned with sincerity in his tone. 

Steven pondered on the question. 

Who  _ did  _ Steven Universe want to be? 

They didn’t want to be defined by anything or anyone. All they wanted to do was to live their life as the person who  _ they  _ wanted to be. The person that their father would have been proud of. A person that the Gems would have been proud of. 

They didn’t want to be anyone special. They just wanted to be-

“I want to be...me.” 

"So, be  _ you _ !"

Steven really could have been anyone that they wanted to be, as long as they put their mind to it. It didn't matter what pronouns they used or what names they wanted to go by, as long as they always stayed true to themselves and the people around them. 

Steven would have been Steven no matter how other people saw them.


End file.
